The main point of this article is, that digital photography communities are growing day by day, really fast, and everybody's taking photos of everything, but always the same.

Well somehow, I agree to them. There are thousands of photos of bees, flowers and water drops out there in those hundreds of photo communities on the net.
You can hardly find anything new and people are really gathering for comments on their pics and everybody's saying: "Wow, great picture, how did you do that!" This, of course, doesn't apply to this forums, honestly! Enough of you people are hard in their critics and I really respect that.

But don't you guys think, that there's a way too big flood of photos from everybody and everything? As I said in the beginning: There're almost no pictures which make you feel "wow", but more and more the same pictures by all those who want to compete with others.

Of course everybody's trying to take photos of something new, but this makes us taking photos of weird things.

I don't want to critizise digital photography, because it became the one big hobby for me, although I've just started with it this year, but this article made me think about it, and somehow I agree to it.
Of course I don't want to keep people off posting their wonderful pictures here; I won't either, but what do you think about all that?

Personally, I really don't mind the abundance of repetitive shots coming from different people. I find that there is a learning experience that comes in shooting even the most simplistic of subjects (or repetitive in this case), and beginners/amateurs must start somewhere....right?

Digital has definitely exposed photography to a greater number of people, but I'm quite confident that to be a pro still takes skill & talent. Hopefully, this will make people realize just how hard photography can be.

Kex, did you ever take notice that when a new art class starts, the subject is a still life? That has been so for a very long time. It is the natural progression of things and that is as it should be. If people seem to gravitate toward that which they see in the forums isn't that also alright? Emulating each other is a great learning process. If you are restless with that, then I am happy for you as that also is a learning process and means you have evolved to another level. When you take photos, is it because you think it will be accepted by your peers? Is it for a card company or stock company? Do you only shoot landscapes for use in calendars? Step outside the box and let your creative juices flow! Will every one be a winner? I think not! Will they be accepted? Perhaps not! Will they make you happy? I really hope so! Shoot for yourself and your own gratification, if you don't have a client and you aren't selling then make the one who bought the equipment happy. If you do this you will learn some things about photography and you will also discover things about yourself. I hope that this makes you or someone rethink why they are pushing the shutter.

Kex, did you ever take notice that when a new art class starts, the subject is a still life? That has been so for a very long time. It is the natural progression of things and that is as it should be.

I totally agree to that.

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If people seem to gravitate toward that which they see in the forums isn't that also alright?

Of course it is!

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Emulating each other is a great learning process. If you are restless with that, then I am happy for you as that also is a learning process and means you have evolved to another level.

Of course, I'm not restless with that! I have to learn really much and learning from each other is part of getting better. So I agree to that point.

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When you take photos, is it because you think it will be accepted by your peers? Is it for a card company or stock company? Do you only shoot landscapes for use in calendars? Step outside the box and let your creative juices flow! Will every one be a winner? I think not! Will they be accepted? Perhaps not! Will they make you happy? I really hope so! Shoot for yourself and your own gratification, if you don't have a client and you aren't selling then make the one who bought the equipment happy.

I shoot photos for myself, in order to express my creativity.
I totally agree to that.

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If you do this you will learn some things about photography and you will also discover things about yourself. I hope that this makes you or someone rethink why they are pushing the shutter.

Yep. you're probably right.
You know, this article just made me think and I wanted you to post your opinions on that.

I know, I'm pushing the shutter for my own pleasure, and when I like the result, I'll of course show it to others to ask them for their opinions. And I won't stop.

I agree... there are too many forums out there with every comment "oooh.. great photo.. how did you manage to photograph that flower?"...

so of course it's a problem for semi-pro's because they tend to be drowned in the flood... but hopefully they manage to do it anyway.. and the flood also flush some bright photographers up on the shore

and great pics will of course become even more sought after when everyone get bored of the same god damn insect that always manage to get in front of the lense

It's like the explosion of blog sites, everyone talking about every minute detail in their lives.

I admit I've posted the odd flower picture, but only to show the closeness the camera can capture (I belong to a few photo groups that are dedicated to only one series of camera).

I guess the problem is most people are just snapshooters rather than photographers. I admit I do take my share of snapshots (out of a 1000 pictures I might have shared 50 with others), but many times I do take multiple shots using different settings to get that perfect shot...one time I took 80 of the same item (a plasma globe using different settings, angles distances, etc.). Here was the final one I chose, and I even used hot pixels as a positive thing (to represent stars) where most would try to avoid hot pixels at all costs:http://www.pbase.com/image/14409227
99% of that shot is in camera with very little editing.

I hope those gave you a taste of something different. Problem is, when I take photos like those for competitions, they are so out there that they get very few votes, compared to something really recognisable like a flower.

I am genuinely blown away by at least one picture per week posted to this forum. Another thing I love about it is the goodwill people extend to each other. Not once have a seen a mean-spirited critique of someone's photo. On the contrary, all the comments are constructive. It makes someone like me comfortable to post my pictures. Perhaps my view stems from the fact that I'm new to digicam web forums and I haven't yet "seen it all." The only other web forum I check is at dpreview.com.